Westminster Abbey
What is it?
Remember when the whole world tuned into Will and Kate's big royal wedding in 2011? Well, that spectacular setting was Westminster Abbey, the storied London church where generations of monarchs have tied the knot through the centuries. It was built between 1220 and 1272 by King Henry III, its gorgeous gothic confines growing more and more elaborate as time wore on.
Why go?
Well, obviously it's stunning as a piece of architecture, with its elaborate perpendicular gothic facade decked with innumberable turrets that pierce the sky like something out of Lord of the Rings. Its interior is equally striking, especially the elaborately vaulted stone roof that'll have you gazing up in wonder. Look down and things get even more interesting. Like the Pantheon Crypt in Paris, where you can see the tombs and memorials to great figures from history, Westminster Abbey is full of a historic array of graves, tablets, busts and stone dedications. Seventeen kings and queens are buried here, along with dukes, countesses and history’s ‘celebs’ – including George Frideric Handel and Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Hardy, Behn, Olivier, etc. There’s an entire stained glass window dedicated to Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and the famous Poet's Corner memorialising famous authors in the South Transept, including DH Lawrence, Jane Austen, Dylan Thomas, Lewis Carroll, Shakespeare and many more.Shake off any morbid thoughts after all that grave-visiting by exploring the Abbey's beautiful grou